--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are only as blind as we want to be." description: "\"We are only as blind as we want to be.\" — Maya Angelou" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2e/maya-angelou-104_blind_we-are-only-as-blind-as-we-want-to-be-96_961570.png" --- # We are only as blind as we want to be. ![“We are only as blind as we want to be.” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2e/maya-angelou-104_blind_we-are-only-as-blind-as-we-want-to-be-96_961570.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2e/maya-angelou-104_blind_we-are-only-as-blind-as-we-want-to-be-96_961570.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2e/maya-angelou-104_blind_we-are-only-as-blind-as-we-want-to-be-96_961570.png) > “We are only as blind as we want to be.” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Blindness is a choice; we can choose to see beyond our self‑imposed limits. **In simple terms:** We choose our blindness. Key Takeaway Choose awareness. Themes awareness choice vision Mood thoughtful empowering Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - education reform - personal development - activism Key Concepts philosophy social critique Questions to Reflect On - What blind spots do you have? - How can you help others see? A Different Perspective Denial can be hard to overcome. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) [Blind Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind-want-769846/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [Look, everyone wants justice to be served. Everyone wants justice to be blind. We want people to make it home or to jail for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cain/look-everyone-wants-justice-to-be-served-everyone-wants-justice-to-be/) [Will Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cain/) > [Being blind is as simple as closing your eyes. The blind don't act any different than you or I. You never see a blind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-freeman/being-blind-is-as-simple-as-closing-your-eyes-the-blind-don-t-act-any/) [Morgan Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-freeman/) > [it's been my experience that the first few days of married life women are blind because they want to be and after that because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roberts-rinehart/it-s-been-my-experience-that-the-first-few-days-of-married-life-women/) [Mary Roberts Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roberts-rinehart/) > [“What is it that you want with me, Baka?” He looked at her in a predatory way that, she sensed, had nothing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-danann/what-is-it-that-you-want-with-me-baka-he-looked-at-her-in-a-predatory/) [Victoria Danann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-danann/) > [Sometimes it's better to be blind not to see what you want to. Sometimes it's better to be deaf for not to misjudge what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evolution/sometimes-it-s-better-to-be-blind-not-to-see-what-you-want-to/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evolution/) > [“Only someone fearful of his own ordinariness would buy, so unquestioningly, someone else's extraordinariness. Maybe this is why they say love is blind. Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-brown/only-someone-fearful-of-his-own-ordinariness-would-buy-so/) [Janelle Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-brown/) > [The blind see what they want to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-blind-see-what-they-want-to-see/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [It is the eye of other people that ruin us. If I were blind I would want, neither fine clothes, fine houses or fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/it-is-the-eye-of-other-people-that-ruin-us-if-i-were-blind-i-would/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [If all but myself were blind, I should want neither a fine house nor fine furniture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/if-all-but-myself-were-blind-i-should-want-neither-a-fine-house-nor/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“the eyes of other people are the eyes that ruin us. if all but myself were blind, I should want neither fine clothes, fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/the-eyes-of-other-people-are-the-eyes-that-ruin-us-if-all-but-myself/) [benjamin franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Take a month and show some kindness for the folks who thought that blindness was an illness that affected eyes alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/take-a-month-and-show-some-kindness-for-the-folks-who-thought-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-want-me-to-do-something-tell-me-i-can-t-do-it/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Love is so blind, it feels right when it's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/love-is-so-blind-it-feels-right-when-it-s-wrong/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) ## More by Maya Angelou > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-want-me-to-do-something-tell-me-i-can-t-do-it/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More Blind quotes > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Love is so blind, it feels right when it's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/love-is-so-blind-it-feels-right-when-it-s-wrong/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [... Arthur Gride, whose bleared eyes gloated only over the outward beauties, and were blind to the spirit which reigned within, evinced - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/arthur-gride-whose-bleared-eyes-gloated-only-over-the-outward/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“A man who saw has turned blind, A hearer deaf, A leader now leads astray!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-lichtheim/a-man-who-saw-has-turned-blind-a-hearer-deaf-a-leader-now-leads-astray/) [Miriam Lichtheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-lichtheim/) > [“What I shall feel to-morrow I cannot tell. Maybe I shall go blind again, for women are never two days alike in their minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-parker/what-i-shall-feel-to-morrow-i-cannot-tell-maybe-i-shall-go-blind/) [Gilbert Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-parker/) > [Now the stage today is to know that Self Realization gives you experiences and then your faith is established. Not blind but open enlightened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/now-the-stage-today-is-to-know-that-self-realization-gives-you/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [The more I produce, the less I am certain. On the road along which the artist walks, night falls ever more densely. Finally, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-more-i-produce-the-less-i-am-certain-on-the-road-along-which-the/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“The heart’s blind. It’s the head that causes all the trouble. Sometimes both are stupid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-bromberg/the-heart-s-blind-it-s-the-head-that-causes-all-the-trouble-sometimes/) [K. Bromberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-bromberg/) > [“In the story of the blind men and the elephant, what’s usually ignored is the fact that each man’s description was correct. What Faye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-hill/in-the-story-of-the-blind-men-and-the-elephant-what-s-usually-ignored/) [Nathan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-hill/) > [My favorite performance would definitely be "Toxic," which was my blind audition song. It was the start of it all and it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-martinez/my-favorite-performance-would-definitely-be-toxic-which-was-my-blind/) [Melanie Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-martinez/) > [Our attitude towards evil must be freed from hatred, and has itself need to be enlightened in character...Satan rejoices when he succeeds in inspiring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/our-attitude-towards-evil-must-be-freed-from-hatred-and-has-itself/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [If you are the master be sometimes blind, if you are the servant be sometimes deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/if-you-are-the-master-be-sometimes-blind-if-you-are-the-servant-be/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [I'm glad I'm blind and can't see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-wonder/i-m-glad-i-m-blind-and-can-t-see-it/) [Stevie Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-wonder/) > [Shut your eyes and you will know what I mean by thought entombed in darkness. Light comes through the senses, and not only through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/shut-your-eyes-and-you-will-know-what-i-mean-by-thought-entombed-in/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Browse all 3,877 Blind quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are only as blind as we want to be.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maya Angelou" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/we-are-only-as-blind-as-we-want-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/we-are-only-as-blind-as-we-want-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2e/maya-angelou-104_blind_we-are-only-as-blind-as-we-want-to-be-96_961570.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2e/maya-angelou-104_blind_we-are-only-as-blind-as-we-want-to-be-96_961570.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2e/maya-angelou-104_blind_we-are-only-as-blind-as-we-want-to-be-96_961570.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are only as blind as we want to be.” — Maya Angelou", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Maya Angelou", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We are only as blind as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/we-are-only-as-blind-as-we-want-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/we-are-only-as-blind-as-we-want-to-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```